For anyone unsure about how bad UCLA’s offensive line looked during the Bruins’ surprisingly close 28-20 win at Virginia last Saturday, offensive line coach Adrian Klemm has a message.

“It was probably one of the (worst) performances I’ve been a part of as a player or a coach,” he said Tuesday, after watching his Bruins surrender five sacks and commit five false-start penalties at Scott Stadium.

Take a moment to consider what that timespan means. The 37-year-old Klemm was once a four-year starter at Hawaii, then became the New England Patriots’ second-round pick in 2000 — becoming a part of three Super Bowl teams. He then took a job as a graduate assistant at Southern Methodist University, where he served as the offensive line coach from 2009 to 2011.

During his time with the Mustangs, they were ranked 105th, 99th and 85th nationally in sacks allowed. After jumping to UCLA in December 2011, the Bruins went from 123rd nationally in his debut season (52 sacks) to 103rd last year (36).

While those numbers aren’t pure measures of offensive line performance, it’s safe to that Klemm has seen some rebuilding projects.

This season, the upswing was expected to continue even with the loss of All-American guard Xavier Su’a-Filo, drafted 33rd overall by the Houston Texans. Klemm is a highly regarded recruiter, and after turning down offers, had received a new contract that guarantees him $650,000 a year.

“I take a tremendous amount of pride in what I do and the product I put out there,” he said. “They’re a reflection of me. I understand there’s certain things that come with some of the things that I’ve been fortunate enough to receive since I’ve been here — (head coach) Jim (Mora) taking care of me, different things like that. So I take it even more to heart in terms of how we perform.”

Klemm dismissed the absence of center Jake Brendel — who had started 27 straight games until sitting out Saturday with a sprained knee — as a potential excuse. He’s aware that no one watching the games cares about injuries or the offensive line’s relative youth: three true sophomores and a true freshman started against the Cavaliers.

He said he didn’t necessarily need to tell his unit anything specific after the game; the facts were self-evident.

“For the most part, if you get to this level, you have to be fairly competitive, right?” Klemm said. “I would think to some degree, they would know on their own that it was a (bad) show. This can’t happen. … You have to know to some degree what it was and be honest with yourselves.”

Klemm also took tried to take some pressure off offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, who has endured on-and-off criticism over the last few seasons for his love of screen passes and his reluctance to adjust his scheme early in games.

UCLA didn’t score an offensive touchdown against Virginia until 1:02 remained in the third quarter.

“People get on Noel about playcalling,” Klemm said. “What do you want to call when it’s third-and-long freakin’ 20 times a game? It all falls back on our shoulders just like this game. If we’re rolling, it’s because of us. We’re overworked and underappreciated, but the thing of the matter is, if they’re not talking about us, it’s a good thing.

“They were talking about us too often last week because of sacks, false starts, different things of that nature. We need to get on track. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to get out here every day and ball.”

Manfro injures knee

UCLA may have lost junior running back Steve Manfro to a serious knee injury. The redshirt junior — who was third on the depth chart behind Paul Perkins and Jordon James — was carted off Spaulding Field on Tuesday afternoon.

“Sometimes they don’t end up being as serious as they look, but that looked serious to me,” said Mora, adding that it changed the entire mood of practice.

The 5-foot-9 back rushed for 107 yards on 24 carries last season, rushing for and catching his only two touchdowns in a 59-13 blowout of New Mexico State. He also returned 18 kickoffs for 446 yards, including a 70-yarder against the Aggies.

However, Manfro only touched the ball twice on Saturday, losing five yards and a fumble.

Jack Wang covers the Chargers, the latest NFL team to relocate to Los Angeles. He previously covered the Rams, and also spent four years on the UCLA beat, a strange period in which the Bruins' football program often outpaced their basketball team. He is a proud graduate of UC Berkeley, where he spent most of his time in The Daily Californian offices in Eshleman Hall — a building that did not become earthquake-safe until after his time on campus.

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